Lesson 2.2: The Problem of Evil, Pt. II

About this episode

The episode explores the problem of evil and various philosophical responses to it.

When the world looks cruel, every defense of God becomes a theory of human nature. Topics Discussed * The problem of evil argument and the two main ways to resist it: reject premise 1 or reject premise 2. * Leibniz's "best of all possible worlds" theodicy, including its psychological promise of consolation and its ethical demand for active striving. * Voltaire's mockery of Leibniz after the Lisbon earthquake, especially the charge that "the best of all possible worlds" sounds absurd in the face of real suffering. * Other responses to the problem of evil: deism, the devil, free will, evil as a counterpart to good, the soul-making defense, and skepticism about whether we can prove that unnecessary suffering exists. * The connection between theology and moral psychology in Hobbes, Leibniz, and Spinoza: whether people need religion, political authority, or freedom from superstition in order to live well.

People in this episode

Host: R. C. M. García

Topics covered

• problem of evil
• theodicy
• moral psychology
• human nature
• free will
• suffering

Keywords

• evil
• theology
• Leibniz
• Voltaire
• suffering
• theodicy
• moral psychology

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